POLITICS
NASS Pledges Support for Robust Financial System
Mr Ahmed Jaha, Chairman of the House of Representative Committee on Insurance and Actuarial Matters has reaffirmed the Federal Government’s dedication to upholding a stable financial system.
He said this at a retreat organised by the Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) for members of the 10th Assembly on Wednesday in Lagos.
Reports says that the meeting has the theme, “Maintaining a Resilient and Stable Banking System: The Role of NDIC”.
Jaha pledged the committee’s commitment to taking proactive steps toward a more robust and secure financial system in Nigeria, with a strong focus on protecting the interests of depositors.
Jaha said, “with a significant number of new members, comprising over 75 per cent of the committee in the 10th Assembly, there is a pressing need for these representatives to gain a comprehensive understanding of the intricacies of the insurance sector.
The retreat, he said, would equip members with the knowledge required to contribute meaningfully to the sector’s advancement, particularly in ensuring the safety of depositors’ funds.
Jaha added, “As the Chairman of the House Committee on Insurance and Actuarial Matters, I am deeply committed to the advancement and oversight of the insurance and banking sectors in our country.
“I believe that the stability and resilience of our banking system are fundamental to the overall economic well-being of Nigeria.
“The role of NDIC in safe guiding the interests of depositors, maintaining financial stability, and promoting public confidence in the banking sector cannot be overstated.
“It is therefore imperative that we, as representatives of the people, engage in meaningful discussions and collaborations with the NDIC to ensure the effectiveness of this mandate.
“This retreat provides us with a valuable opportunity to engage in insightful discussions, share knowledge, to gain a deeper understanding of the challenges and opportunities facing the banking and insurance industry.
“By doing so, we can collectively develop informed policies and strategies that will promote a stable, resilient, and inclusive banking system for the benefit of all Nigerians.”
He also highlighted the committee’s commitment to a collaborative approach to financial stability in Nigeria.
He emphasised the importance of strong legal frameworks for financial safety net agencies and acknowledges their critical role in protecting consumers and fostering a resilient financial system.
Jaha underscored the importance of the NDIC, while emphasising the committee’s focused approach to acquiring knowledge and contributing meaningfully towards a shared goal.
According to him, this signifies a positive intention for improved collaboration and effective depositor protection within the Nigerian financial system.
He said, “NDIC as you are all aware, provides the safety of depositors funds and promotes depositors’ confidence in the financial system in the country.
“So, the committee is ready when given the required knowledge and development, to collaborate with NDIC to make sure that we have succeeded in achieving that.”
Furthermore, on the confidence on the banking sector, he said, “As far as we are concerned and as far as the effort of the NDIC, particularly in trying to protect depositors’ funds and various banks, I am optimistic that we will not have a lot of issues.
“From my understanding, NDIC is doing everything it takes to protect depositors’ funds in our various financial institutions.”
Earlier, Mr Bello Hassan, Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer NDIC, noted that the financial indicators affirmed the robustness of the banking system.
He reassured that depositors in banks, protected by NDIC, could have confidence in the safety of their funds.
“This theme is apt given the determination of the Federal Government toward achieving sustainable growth by strengthening the financial sector to boost economic growth.
“This falls in line with the corporations’ contribution to ensuring the stability of the financial system by effectively supervising the banking sector and safeguarding depositors’ funds from the adverse effects of bank failure.”
Speaking on the sidelines, Hassan added: “The banking system, today, in Nigeria is safe and sound.
“I’m saying this not out of sentiment, but looking at the financial soundness indicators, in terms of capital adequacy, the quality of earnings, and the quality of the assets.
“So, I can confidently say that the banking system in Nigeria today as we speak, is safe and sound and depositors can continue to patronise, licensed deposit-taking institutions that are fully insured by the NDIC.”(NAN)
The Abia Chapter of the INEC Staff Welfare Association (ISWA) has warned its members to uphold the integrity of the commission and guard against the culture of manipulating election results.
The Abia Chairman of the association, Mr Collins Eze, gave the advice at the group’s general meeting and end-of-year party in Umuahia.
Speaking in an interview with newsmen on the sideline of the ceremony, Eze said that the staff members were adequately aware of their enormous responsibility and should ensure free, fair and credible elections.
He said: “We have also told our colleagues that anywhere they find themselves they should make sure that they do the needful by ensuring transparency in the conduct of elections.
“We have always told them not to allow anybody to induce them with money to manipulate election results.
“I’m happy that they have been building the capacity of our colleagues on election processes.
“So, in the coming years, we won’t have any problem in ensuring free, fair and peaceful elections.”
He said that the end-of-year party was special as it afforded them the opportunity “to wine and dine together as well as thank God for sustaining them in 2024”.
Eze said that his leadership had introduced various means of assisting members in dire financial needs by providing platforms to solicit suppory for them.
He expressed gratitude to members for their support and cooperation, describing them as the “secret behind the success of this administration”.
He said that 34 of at least 350 staff members of the commission in the state retired from service in 2024.
According to him, the development has placed a huge financial burden on the association, in terms of their welfare and entitlement as members.
Report says that each member received a carton of tomato paste as Christmas gift from the association. (NAN)
A chieftain of All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr Osita Okechukwu, has told the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to be thankful to God that its 16-year administration was not probed by the successive APC-led governments.Okechukwu stated this on Tuesday in Abuja, while reacting to a statement by PDP congratulating Ghanaians for the conduct of free, fair and transparent general elections.
Report says that PDP had, in a statement, said that the verdict of the people of Ghana in the presidential election was a signal to the APC that its days were numbered. The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, had said in the statement that the power of the people in Nigeria, just like in Ghana, would ‘surely prevail and end the APC’s oppressive rule’.This, he said, would “return Nigeria to the path of good governance, security, political stability and economic prosperity on the platform of the PDP in 2027.”However, in his reactions to Ologunagba’s statement, Okechukwu said that the PDP clan should thank God that former President Muhammadu Buhari and President Bola Tinubu, out of sheer statesmanship, had refused to probe ‘the 16 locus years of PDP administrations’.Okechukwu, a former Director-General of Voice of Nigeria (VON), described the 16 years of PDP administrations as ones full of squandering and lack of plan.He said that Nigeria had yet to recover from the humongous culture of impunity and trust deficit planted by PDP on the Nigerian soil.Okechukwu said corruption was among the culture of impunity, saying it governed the privatisation of Nigeria’s electricity value chain, a key element in the country’s industrialisation drive.“Another is the blatant rigging of the 2007 general elections which the foremost beneficiary, President Umaru Yar’Adua, out of good conscience and noble magnanimity, publicly acknowledged the malfeasance which characterised his victory,” he said.Okechukwu also mentioned what he called conscienceless sale of the legislative and ministerial quarters, the annual rentage of which, he said, was bleeding the country’s treasury.“Another one is the neglect of $23 billion Greenfield Refinery, which could have saved over $70 billion expended on importation of refined petroleum products and which simulated the economic hardship of today,” he said.On why, for nine years, the APC administration could not fix those challenges, he recalled the efforts made by the Buhari administration to reopen talks on the Greenfield Refinery which, according to him, the Chinese regrettably rebuffed.The former VON director-general said that Nigerians were not in a hurry to forget the deliberate breach of the rotational convention of president from the north to the south.He said that the country could not also forget the utter disregard for Section 7 of the PDP’s constitution which expressly mandated zoning.Okechukwu advised the PDP not to insult the sensibilities of Nigerians by assuming that citizens would easily forget how they were put in the harms way.He said that PDP should thank God that Buhari and Tinubu did not want to probe them, adding “that’s why Nigerians cannot decipher the difference between the two political parties.” (NAN)
Sen. Ned Nwoko (PDP-Delta) says that Local Government Administration is central to democracy in Nigeria as it ensures grassroots governance and service delivery at the local level.This is contained in a statement signed by Dr Michael Nwoko, the Chief of Staff to the lawmaker in Abuja on Monday.Nwoko said this on the occasion of the presentation of an award “Icon of Hope” to him by the Association of Local Government Vice Chairmen of Nigeria (ALGOVC).
He was represented by his Chief of Staff. He said that the importance of local government administration in the country could not be overemphasised, as it was the bedrock of democracy.According to him, local governments in Nigeria play key roles in the country’s democracy by promoting participatory democracy, providing services, and representing citizens.“Local Governments help determine local needs and how to meet them. They also act as a link between the centre, state, and local people.“They are created to decentralise power and bring the government closer to the people. They perform both mandatory and concurrent functions.“It is in view of this that I took it upon myself to enhance the viability of local governments through the Paris and London club loan refunds,”he said.Dr Folashade Olabanji-Oba, ALGOVC National Chairman, while presenting the award at its 7th Annual National Conference, said the award was in recognition of the lawmaker’s significant contributions to strengthening local government administration.She highlighted Nwoko’s critical role in ensuring the Paris and London Club loan refunds, a financial breakthrough she said enhanced the capacity of local governments nationwide.(NAN)
Yuletide: Bode George Urges Tinubu to Reduce Petrol Price
ShareChief Bode George, a former Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has urged President Bola Tinubu to...
Tinubu Set for Groundbreaking of Renewed Hope City in Lagos
Share President Bola Tinubu, is set to perform the groundbreaking of 2,000 housing units of the Renewed Hope City in...
Gov. Alia Presents N550.1bn as 2025 Budget Estimate to Benue Assembly
ShareGov. Hyacinth Alia on Wednesday presented the sum of N550.1bn as the 2025 appropriation bill to the Benue State House...
Tax Bills: NASS will not Betray the Trust of Nigerians, says Akpabio
Share The President of the Senate, Sen. Godswill Akpabio, says the National Assembly will prioritise the interest of all Nigerians...
Alia Has Demonstrated Capacity, Courage to Entrench Good Governance—Speaker
Share The Speaker, Benue Assembly, Mr Hyacinth Dajo, has said that Gov. Hyacinth Alia has so far demonstrated capacity, courage,...
Investors Gain N183bn on NGX
Share The Nigerian Exchange Ltd. (NGX) continued its bullish trend on Wednesday, gaining N183 billion. Accordingly, the market capitalisation, which...
Energy, Solid Minerals Top Priority, Tinubu Tells German Businessmen
Share President Bola Tinubu, on Wednesday, assured the German government and businessmen of Nigeria’s preparedness to expand frontiers for investors...
Nigerian Who Wrote WASSCE 17 Times Bags Distinction from London School
Share Dr Emmanuel Ahmadu, a Nigerian who wrote the West Africa School Senior Certificate Education 17 times, has earned a...
INEC Staff Welfare Association Warns Members Against Manipulating Election Results
Share The Abia Chapter of the INEC Staff Welfare Association (ISWA) has warned its members to uphold the integrity of...
Bill for Compulsory Counselling, Training of Convicts Scales 2nd Reading
ShareA bill to amend the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000, has successfully passed its second reading in...